High efficiency cyclone gasifying combustion burner and method

ABSTRACT

A cyclone gasifying combustion burner and its operation is described. An exemplary burner has an inner cylindrical wall with a contour chamber feeding combustion air into the inner cylindrical wall, with an open end and a solid fuel support end where a combustible material forms a fuel bed. The inner cylindrical wall has a series of inclined air jet holes of substantially predetermined diameter and disposed at substantially predetermined locations therein to create a unidirectional cyclone within a combustion zone defined within the inner cylindrical wall. The air jet holes are disposed at a tangential and vertical angle whereby the combustion air is drawn into the inner cylindrical wall and creates a cyclone flow to mix with the combustion gases released from the flaming pyrolysis fuel bed and causes the combustion gases to flow in a cyclone path within a reaction zone to increase the residency, mixing and turbulence time of the combustion gases and simultaneously precipitate suspended particles against an inner surface of the inner cylindrical wall whereby the particles are caused to gravitate to the fuel bed where they are removed in a controlled manner during the operation of the burner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Canadian Patent Application No.______, filed on Dec. 15, 2005, and entitled “High Efficiency CycloneGasifying Combustion Burner to Produce Thermal Energy and Devices andMethod of Operation”, and hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to fuel burners, and inparticular to a high-efficiency cyclone gasifying combustion burner andmethods of operation.

BACKGROUND ART

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,449, a solid fuel burner is disclosed ofcylindrical shape with holes disposed in an inner cylindrical wall tocreate a swirling motion to burn the combustion gases. Furtherexperimental work and testing of this concept has led to importantimprovements beneficial to human health.

There has been a considerable increase in the use of wood-burningdevices to heat residential buildings. This increase has beenprecipitated by the high cost of oil and gas. However, thesewood-burning devices pollute the atmosphere and are harmful to humanhealth.

According to Environment Canada, a woodstove that is not certified emitsas many fine particles into the air in nine hours as does a certifiedwoodstove in 60 hours or a mid-size automobile traveling 18,000 km inone year. Heating with wood represents a major source of contaminantdischarge into the air: carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds(VOC), fine particles (PM_(2.5)), nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)) andpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, among others). Smoke from thecombustion of wood is present in both inside and outside the home.

In residential neighbourhoods where wood heating is common, exposure tocontaminants from chimney smoke can have a significant impact on health.

In the Province of Quebec, Canada, wood-fire home heating is responsiblefor half of the fine particle emissions associated with humanactivities. At the local level, wood combustion may contribute far moreseverely to pollution. For example, a report by the Montreal UrbanCommunity has shown that, in winter, the concentrations of fineparticles, VOC's and PAH's were often higher in residentialneighbourhoods than in the downtown sector. Under certain weatherconditions, the concentration of contaminants in the ambient air canreach high levels in certain neighbourhoods. This type of situation canoccur in many places.

The number of wood-heating systems is increasing in Canada and manyother countries in the world. Statistics Canada data indicates that thenumber of dwellings using wood heating increased by about 60% from 1987to 2000. During the same period, the number of dwellings increased byless than 20%. This is true also for many cities of the world employingwood heating-systems.

The particles emitted when heating with wood are very small, less than2.5 microns, allowing them to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract,affecting breathing. The following Table illustrates the potentialhealth impacts of certain contaminants from high concentration of woodsmoke in the air. Contaminants Effects Carbon monoxide CO Headaches,nausea, dizziness, aggravation of angina in people with cardiac problemsVolatile organic VOC Respiratory, irritation and compounds difficulties,certain VOC are carcinogenic (ex: Benzene) Acrolein and — Irritation ofthe eyes and formaldehyde respiratory system Fine particles PM_(2.5)Irritation of the respiratory system, aggravation of cardiorespiratorydiseases, hastened mortalities Nitrogen oxides NO_(x) Irritation of therespiratory system, painful inhalation, coughing, pulmonary oedemaPolycyclic aromatic PAH Certain PAH are considered or hydrocarbonssuspected of being mutagenic or carcinogenic Dioxins and furans —Potentially carcinogenic

The magnitude of these effects depend upon people's sensitivity. Veryyoung children, the elderly and individuals who suffer from asthma,emphysema or heart problems are among the most sensitive to airpollution.

In addition to emitting contaminants outdoors, wood combustion units mayalter the quality of the air inside the home as portions of thecombustion gases and fine particles make their way back indoors. Theseleaks inside the home will vary in importance according to the type ofunit used, the quality of its installation and the way in which thehomeowner operates the wood-burning unit. A study carried out by theDirection de la santé publique de Montréal-Centre showed that peopleusing a woodstove had higher concentrations of contaminants in theirurine than people without woodstoves. The combustion of wood thusrepresents an additional source of exposure to toxic substances in thehome. Unlike most solid fuel burning devices, the burner of thisinvention can utilize solid fuels like wood and other types of non woodbased solid fuels and substantially reduce emissions of toxic componentsduring combustion.

Each type of mineral that may be present in the solid fuel has a knownmelting point, and some of these minerals are further transformed bytemperature into a gas vapor state, a term known as alkali metal speciesmigration. Some of these minerals occurring substantially as potassiumand chlorides, which may have lower melting points than for examplesilicates, pose many difficulties during and after combustion of thefuel, as they promote the agglomeration (by melting and or cooling intomasses) of minerals on adjacent metal surfaces. The deposition ofinorganic elements such as alkali metals can have a significant impacton an operating system's overall performance, which further impacts onthe efficacy of the operating system over time. Agriculture based fibersusually contain higher levels of chlorides and potassium salts.

The high cost of natural gas and fuel oil and our dependency thereon andthe effects of burning fossil fuels on climate change is another reasonwhy alternate clean sources of energy are required today. According tothe United Nations and the scientific community, the combustion of solidBiomass fuel, is considered to be green house gas neutral, that is,absorbing the equivalent CO2 (carbon dioxide) during growth as isemitted during combustion.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with various aspects of the present invention, a cyclonegasifying combustion burner is configured for use in or coupled to asolid fuel biomass device that substantially eliminates variousdisadvantages of wood-stoves or other solid fuel combustion devices. Forexample, an exemplary burner and method of operation can substantiallyreduce the emission levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC),particulates and fly ash as well as the level of nitrogen oxide (NO_(x))and/or all other carbon and volatile gases released during combustion ofa solid fuel.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner can be incorporated into or coupled to a device havinga thermal energy source and that can be automatically controlled in amodulated manner to achieve optimum efficiency. Such a cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner can comprise a fuel bed support system, such as apyrolytic fuel bed, that automatically removes ashes from the fuel bedand thereby substantially reduces emission of volatile organiccompounds, particulates, fly-ash, nitrogen oxides and other pollutantsinto the atmosphere. In accordance with another aspect, a cyclonegasifying combustion burner can also be configured such that the fuelbed temperature is starved of combustion air whereby to reduce thetemperature of the fuel bed to prevent the fusion of inorganic elementswithin the solid fuel. An exemplary cyclone gasifying combustion burnermay also be coupled to heating devices for residential, commercial andindustrial applications, whereby to replace fossil fuel dependentheating devices. Such heating devices incorporating the cyclonegasifying combustion burner can also be configured to achievesignificant reduction of greenhouse causing gases.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner comprises a combustion housing defined by an innercylindrical wall surrounded by a manifold chamber having combustion airinlet devices and mechanisms. The inner cylindrical wall has air jetholes therein of substantially predetermined diameter and disposed at asubstantially predetermined angle to create an air cyclone flow in areaction zone in the inner cylindrical wall and spaced above a lowerair-starved gasifying fuel bed thereof. The cyclone flow in the reactionzone can increase the residency time, turbulence, and mixing of oxygenand volatile gases to substantially complete combustion of the gasesdrawn into the reaction zone and causes suspended particles to gravitateinto the fuel bed and thereby substantially reduce the emission ofpollutants into the atmosphere.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a device having a combustionchamber and requiring a thermal energy source can be configured incombination with the cyclone combustion burner. A heat exchanger can beprovided in the combustion chamber. An air displacement system or devicecan create a negative pressure in the combustion chamber to displace hotair against the heat exchanger and to draw air through the air jet holesin the inner cylindrical wall of the combustion chamber. Mechanisms areprovided to control the air displacement systems. In accordance with anexemplary embodiment, the combustion burner comprises a low pressureburner having an air/fuel ratio of about 6:1 to 10:1.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, there is provided acontroller for automatically controlling the operation of the heatingdevice. A user interface pad, having a memory and switch means, is alsoprovided to set parameters into the controller relating to a desiredmode of operation. The pad is also equipped with visual display device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of substantially reducing the emission levels ofvolatile organic compounds (VOC), particulates entrained fly ash, andthe level of nitrogen oxides (NOX) during combustion of a solid fuel. Inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment, an exemplary method comprisesthe steps of feeding the solid or gas fuel in particle-form into an openend of a cyclone gasifying combustion burner and onto a flamingpyrolysis fuel bed thereof. The fuel bed is disposed below a reactionzone of the burner. The burner has a burner chamber defined by an innercylindrical wall having a predetermined number of inclined air jet holesof predetermined diameter and height disposed at substantiallypredetermined locations to create a cyclone air flow within the reactionzone when combustion air is drawn therethrough. Air is drawn into theburner chamber through the inclined air jet holes whereby to drawcombustion gases from the fuel bed into the reaction zone to mix withthe cyclone air flow thereby substantially increasing the residency timeof the combustion gases in a turbulent, mixing of oxygen and volatilegases for substantially complete combustion of gases and tars in thereaction zone and to simultaneously precipitate suspended particlesagainst an inner surface of the inner cylindrical wall to cause at leastsome of the particles to agglomerate with other particles to increasetheir molecular weight and gravitate to the fuel bed.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the vertical combustionhousing has an open top end. A mechanism is provided to feed a solidbiomass fuel in a particle, granular, pellet or whole or partial grainform to the fuel bed. A further combustion housing having an innercylindrical wall surrounded by a manifold chamber is also provided. Theinner cylindrical wall of the further combustion housing has air jetholes therein to create a reaction zone for the combustion of gases. Thefurther combustion housing has a closed end wall and an opposed open endwall and is secured adjacent to the closed end wall to an open top endof the combustion housing and extends substantially transverselythereto. The inner cylindrical wall of both the vertical combustionhousing and the further combustion housing communicate with one anotherto form a continuous internal combustion chamber.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the further combustionhousing has an open rear end and an open front end. The open rear end isconnected to the open top end of the vertical combustion housing byconduit means for the supply of hot combustible gases released from theopen top end for mixing with an air cyclone of the further combustionhousing.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a cyclonegasifying combustion burner having a combustion housing defined by aninner cylindrical wall surrounded by a manifold chamber having acombustion air inlet mechanism or system. The inner cylindrical wall hasair jet holes therein of predetermined diameter and disposed at apredetermined angle to create an air cyclone flow in a reaction zone inthe inner cylindrical wall spaced above a lower combustion gas supply.The cyclone flow in the reaction zone increases the residency time,turbulence, mixing of oxygen with volatile gases for substantiallycomplete combustion of gases drawn in the reaction zone therebysubstantially reducing the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a method of substantiallyreducing the emission levels of any one of volatile organic compounds(VOC), particulates, entrained fly ash, and/or the level of oxygenoxides (NO_(x)) during combustion of a gas can comprise supplying acombustion gas from below a reaction zone of a cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner. For example, the burner can comprise a burner chamberdefined by an inner cylindrical wall having a substantiallypredetermined number of inclined air jet holes of substantiallypredetermined diameter disposed at substantially predetermined locationsto create a cyclone air flow within the reaction zone when combustionair is drawn therethrough. The method further comprises drawing air intothe burner chamber through the inclined air jet holes whereby to drawthe combustion gases into the reaction zone to mix with the cyclone airflow thereby increasing the residency time of the combustion gases,turbulence, and mixing of oxygen with volatile gases for substantiallycomplete combustion of gases in the reaction zone to substantiallyreduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described inconnection with the appended drawing figures in which like numeralsdenote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view, partly sectioned, of an exemplarypellet stove heating device and showing the airflow path through thecyclone combustion burner and through a heat exchanger chamber of thedevice and out through a flue conduit in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing an airflow path ofambient air for heating the air around the pellet stove in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented perspective view showing the construction of aninner cylindrical wall of a cyclone combustion burner and thedisposition of exemplary air jet holes therein in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an inner cylindrical wall illustrating atransverse angle of air jet holes with respect to the transverse axis ofthe inner cylindrical wall in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of an exemplary inner cylindrical wall illustratinga tangential angle of the air jet holes with respect to the curvature ofthe inner cylindrical wall in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a cyclone combustion burnerillustrating a cyclone effect of the combustion zone and the separationof suspended particles therein and its precipitation into the fuel bedin accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the construction of an exemplarysupport tray and ash discharge augers in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an end view of an exemplary support tray showing the drive ofthe augers and its connection to a motor drive shaft in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the construction of a user interfacepad in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of an exemplarycontroller and its associated component parts within a pellet burningstove constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a simplified schematic view wherein an exemplary cyclonecombustion burner modified for coupling to other heating devices andwherein a cyclone chamber is mounted horizontally for coupling toexisting air-to-air or liquid heat exchange systems, or to absorbtivechilling devices, thermoelectric, thermophoto-voltaic generators, andheat engines to provide thermal energy for their specific application inaccordance with other exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is another exemplary embodiment of the application as shown inFIG. 11 but wherein the two cyclone gasifying combustion burners areseparated from one another;

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration, partly in section, illustrating afurther application wherein the fuel bed is replaced by a gas burnerwhich is supplied gas from another source in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration wherein an exemplary burner isincorporated in a hot air or hydronic hot water producing furnace,herein provided with a solid fuel supply system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be described herein in terms of varioussystems, devices, components and processing steps. It should beappreciated that such systems, devices, components and steps may berealized by any number of structural components configured to performthe specified functions. For example, the present invention may employvarious electronic control devices, venting systems, flow controls andthe like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the controlof one or more control systems, microprocessors or other controldevices. In addition, the present invention may be practiced in anynumber of burner contexts and the exemplary embodiments relating to asystem and method for a high-efficiency cyclone gasifying combustionburner as described herein are merely a few of the exemplaryapplications for the invention. For example, the principles, featuresand methods discussed may be applied to any fuel burning application orprocess.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment, a solid fuel heating device 10 having a combustion chamber12 in which an exemplary cyclone gasifying combustion burner 11 isconfigured to produce thermal energy is illustrated. The cyclonecombustion burner 11 is disposed proximate to the bottom of a combustionchamber 12 and/or otherwise proximate to a fuel bed 25. In an exemplaryembodiment, combustion air indicated by arrows 13 is drawn through amanifold chamber 14 defined between an outer steel cylindrical wall 15and an inner steel cylindrical wall 16. The inner steel cylindrical wall16 can be provided with angularly oriented or otherwise inclined air jetholes in various manners and configurations as will be described later.In the exemplary embodiment, air entering the manifold chamber is heatedand drawn into a reaction zone of the burner 11 through the air jetholes and is convected in the direction of arrows 17 towards an exhaustflue 18, such as by a combusion fan 68, which can be located internallyto heating device 10 or proximate the exterior of device 10. Whiledrawing of air can provide improved operation, such air can also besuitably blown or otherwise forced into the reaction zone in otherexemplary embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary heat exchange arrangement in the formof hollow pipes 19 can be disposed towards the top end of the combustionchamber 12 and heated by the flow of hot air as indicated by arrow 17.Ambient air, as indicated by arrows 20, is circulated through the hollowpipes 19 by a fan 21 mounted in a side wall of the heating device, orany other convenient location such as proximate the hot air exhaustarea, to exhaust heated air from the pipes 19 into the ambient air, asindicated by arrow 22, whereby to heat the surrounding area of the solidfuel heating device 10. Fan 21 can be configured in various locationsfor circulating ambient air through pipes 19, with such pipes 19 beingarranged in various manners for discharging heat to the surroundingarea.

The solid fuel heating device 10, as herein illustrated in the exemplaryembodiment, comprises a biomass pellet, fuel and/or grain-fed spaceheating stove and can include a hopper 23 configured for storage of fuelsources, such as solid fuel pellets 24, for example. Hopper 23 cancomprise various sizes, shapes and configurations for storage of fuel.In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the feed pellets are fedinto a fuel bed 25 of the cyclone burner 11 by an auger 26 feeding achute 27. In the exemplary embodiment, the solid fuel, pellets 24entering the cyclone burner 11 are projected into the fuel bed 25 bygravity and supported by a support mechanism in the form of a supporttray 28 fixedly secured under the bottom open end of the innercylindrical wall 16. An ash collecting tray 29 is removably securedunder this support tray 28 and accessible through a door 30. It ispointed out that the solid fuel pellets and grains 24 could also be fedfrom the bottom or the side of the unit or any other configuration forproviding fuel pellets and the like onto fuel bed 25. For example,rather than hopper 23 and/or auger 26, any other mechanisms or systemsfor conveying materials can be suitably implemented.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 6, in accordance with exemplary embodiments,an inner cylindrical wall 16 of the cyclone combustion burner 11 isillustrated. As hereinshown, an exemplary inner cylindrical wall 16 isprovided with a series of angulated air jet holes 31 of substantiallypredetermined diameter and disposed at substantially predeterminedlocations therein to create a uni-directional cyclone to create areaction zone 33 within the combustion chamber. For example, anexemplary cyclone-like effect is illustrated by reference numeral 32 inFIG. 6. This cyclone 32 is oriented in the reaction zone 33 in an areaabove the fuel bed 25 and extending close to the top open end 34 of theinner cylindrical wall 16. By angulating the air jet holes, the cyclonepath can be oriented to achieve optimum separation of suspendedparticles to facilitate sufficient retention time to burn the combustiongases. This reaction zone 33, defined by the inner cylindrical wall 16,can be of a substantially predetermined length depending on the size ofthe cyclone combustion burner 11, among other parameters and criteria.

As shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the airjet holes 31 are disposed in groups on at least two inclined axes 35,such as, for example, the three groups of these holes shown in FIG. 3;however, this disposing of groups may vary depending on the diameter ofthe inner cylindrical wall. Moreover, while at least two inclined axes35 are desirable, using a single inclined axis 35 can also be providedin other exemplary embodiments.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, each group of theair jet holes 31 comprise four holes, but again this may vary dependingon the size of the cyclone burner for applications at the commercial andindustrial scale. Also, the holes can be offset from one another and notnecessarily be equidistantly spaced apart provided that they create auni-directional cyclone which achieves the desired result of increasingat least one of the residency time, turbulence, and/or the mixing ofoxygen and volatile gases to substantially combust the gases drawn intothe reaction zone 33. In addition, the configuration of air jet holes 31can also cause suspended particles to gravitate to the fuel bed. Itshould be noted that the relative sizes, number, spacing and linearityof the holes 31 within an axis 35 can suitably configured in variousmanners to facilitate the cyclone effect. Therefore, although FIG. 3shows an exemplary pattern for the angulated air jet holes, it isconceivable that other suitable patterns may produce a similarlysatisfactory result.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment,each of air jet holes 31 can be disposed at a tangential angle 36 (e.g.,see FIG. 5) with respect to the curvature of the inner cylindrical wall16. Holes 31 can also be oriented at a transverse angle 37 (e.g., seeFIG. 4) extending in the direction of the open top end 34. While inaccordance with the exemplary embodiments each of holes 31 may beconfigured with substantially the same tangential angle 36 and/ortransverse angle 37, in accordance with other exemplary embodiments, oneor more of holes 31 can also be configured with different tangentialangles 36 and/or transverse angles 37. In accordance with an exemplaryembodiment, the negative pressure within the combustion chamber 12 ofthe solid fuel heating device 10 draws the combustion air through themanifold 14 and through the one or more angled air jet holes 31 at a lowpressure wherein the air/fuel ratio is from about 6:1 to 10:1, or otherlike air/fuel ratio sufficient to create a high velocity cyclone withinthe reaction zone 33 to provide one or more of the intended functions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the tangential angle 36 isin the range of between approximately 15° to 89° with respect to thecurvature of the inner cylindrical wall 16. This angle is calculatedfrom a tangent 38 of the curved outer surface 39 at the point of entryof the air jet hole 31′ into the inner cylindrical wall 16, asillustrated in FIG. 5. For example, for a 4 inch diameter innercylindrical housing, this angle can be between approximately 55° and65°, e.g, approximately 61°. The transverse angle 37 is in the range ofapproximately 1° to 15° or more with respect to the transverse axis 40as illustrated in FIG. 4, such as at an angle of approximately 13°.However, holes 31 can be configured at any tangential and/or transverseangle configured to generate air flow configured to create acyclone-like effect and/or suspend particles.

The angular orientation of these air jet holes 31 creates the cyclonecombustion air flow within the reaction zone 33 inside the innercylindrical wall and causes the combustion gases released from the fuelbed to follow a cyclone path with the combustion air whereby theresidency time of these combustion gases is increased to achievesubstantially total combustion thereof. This increase in residency timewithin the combustion zone 33 can also cause the suspended particles,herein designated by reference numeral 41, to be projected against theinner surface 42 of the inner cylindrical wall 16 by the centrifugalforce of the cyclone and agglomerate with other particles 41 to increasetheir molecular weight and thereby gravitate to the fuel bed 25. Forexample, particles at the center of the cyclone 32, herein illustratedby reference numeral 41′, can also precipitate towards the fuel bedsince the center of the cyclone can comprise an area of entrapment.These particles can collect at the bottom of the fuel bed in the supporttray 28 below the combustion zone 251 of the fuel bed 25. Accordingly,this cyclone action in the reaction zone results in a substantial totalreduction of the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one or more other air jet holes, such asholes 45, can be provided in the inner cylindrical housing whereby toadmit combustion air into the fuel bed 25. Such holes 45 may haveminimal to no inclination as they feed combustion air to the bed. Thenumber of these holes will depend on the desired air fuel ratio and asabove-indicated, this fuel ratio is about 6:1 to 10:1, such asapproximately 8:1, whereas with conventional pellet stoves, the fuel isburned at a fairly high ratio of 35:1 or more.

A problem with burning pellet fuel, such as corn, wood pellets, etc., athigh temperature is that the mineral elements in these pellets fuse,deform to a semi-liquid state and crystallize to form a slag likeclinker deposit within or adjacent to the fuel bed combustion area.Usually, these conventional wood pellet stoves operate at an air to fuelratio of at least 35:1 or more, thus the air blowers need to operate ata high rate of speed. This high rate of speed causes ash to fly out ofthe burner, thereby affecting the operation of the fans and motors andentraining in the atmosphere fly ash, volatiles, particulates andsubstantially increased levels of NOX from excess combustion air. Withburner 11, it can be said that the system is an air-starved system andaccordingly, burner 11 burns the solid fuel at a lower temperature,substantially below the fusion point of the inorganic elements which maybe present and which make up the ash which is also metered out of thefuel bed area and into an ash holding area. Solid fuels have differentmineral contents and when properly controlled and subjected to abalanced air to fuel ratio and ash management system, whichsubstantially influence the fuel bed characteristics and reaction zonecyclone, and it has been found that substantially no clinkers areformed.

It is pointed out that the inner diameter of the inner cylindrical wall16 may vary within a minimum of approximately 1 inch to 48 inches ormore depending on the application of the burner be it residential,commercial or industrial. The height of the inner and outer cylindricalwalls can also vary between a minimum of approximately 2 inches to 48inches or more. The air jet hole diameter may also vary fromapproximately 1/16 of an inch to 6 inches or more. The air jet holes 31can also spaced apart at a predetermined distance from one another,depending on various design criteria.

As the solid particles and ash collect within the bottom end of the fuelbed 25 below the combustion zone 25′ and into the support tray 28, suchparticles and ash can be automatically removed from the bottom of thefuel bed as will now be described with reference to exemplaryembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8. For example, in accordance withan exemplary embodiment, a support tray 28 can comprise an elongatedshallow rectangular housing 50 in which there is disposed one or moreauger screws 51, such as the three screws 51 illustrated in FIG. 7, thatare coupled to a drive shaft 52 through inter-engaging gears 53. A drivedevice, herein an electric motor 54, connects to the drive shaft 52 androtates the one or more auger screws at a controlled speed rate. Therate of speed of the motor 54 is determined by a controller 60. Thehousing 50 has a top wall 54 with an opening 55 which is disposed underthe inner cylindrical wall 16 and this open area 55 defines the fuelbed. The combustion zone 25′ of the fuel bed 25 is an area above thisfuel bed once the fuel bed has been lit and the combustible material hasestablished the combustion zone 25′. By rotating the auger screws 51 ata predetermined speed, it creates a “bubbling effect” in the fuel bedimproving combustion of the solid fuel particles and causing the ashesproduced to percolate, to the bottom of the fuel bed area, wherein theauger screws displace the ashes towards an open bottom end section ofthe housing which constitutes an ash discharge section 56 where ashesare discharged within an ash collecting tray 29 positioned thereunder,as illustrated by reference numeral 57. Although housing 50 can compriseauger screws 51 configured to induce a “bubbling effect”, any othermechanism or devices, such as vibrating screens or conveyors, can alsobe suitably incorporated. Moreover, rather than a housing 50 and screw51 configuration, support tray can also include a grating configurationfor holding fuel within fuel bed 25.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10 in accordance with exemplaryembodiments, there will be described the operation of an exemplarycontroller 60. This controller 60 is connected to a user interface pad61 that is provided with an internal memory 62 (see FIG. 10), and whichkeypad permits a user to control the operation of the solid fuel biomasspellet heating device 10, such as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The maincontroller 60 controls the motor 54 and the fans and inputs operatingparameters by sensors, as will be described later. To start theoperation of a biomass pellet device 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2, a measured quantity of pellets 24 are placed in the fuel bed 28 alongwith a starter fluid, and this is ignited by the user and the door ofthe biomass burner device is closed, or the pellets are automaticallyfed to the burner and ignited by an ignition device, to create aninitial fuel bed. The user then selects a desired mode of operation ofthe device 10 by inputting desired parameters into the controller by theuse of the interface pad 61. The interface pad 61 can also be providedwith pressure sensitive switches 62 whereby to set the fuel feed andspeed of the exhaust fan and consequently the quantity of air admittedinto the combustion zone of the cyclone burner, whereby to increase ordecrease the temperature in the combustion chamber 12 and consequentlythe temperature of the heated air released by the biomass pellet devicethrough the heat exchanger located above the flame which is alsoregulated by a separate fan. All of the operating parameters step up ordown, to maintain optimum performance levels, according to the desiredheat performance required of the device. Additionally the entire systemcan operate from a remote thermostat to regulate all of these operatingparameters according to what the thermostat is set to. Ash controlswitches 63 can also be provided to fine-tune the ash evacuation rateand this is inputted into the controller which regulates the speed ofthe motor which drives the auger screws. Output temperature controlswitches 64 are also provided to set a desired BTU output of the pelletstove. Through the software of the controller, the type of fuel andsubstantially ideal operating conditions of the device are regulated andmaintained.

As shown in FIG. 10, an exemplary controller 60 is provided with inputsignals from a low temperature sensor 65 that senses the temperature ofthe heating device 10 and it is conveniently located on a wall of theheating device. The controller 60 also monitors input signals from anoperational thermo sensor 66 which indicates that a flame is present inthe burner chamber. A high temperature sensor 67 can also beconveniently located on the outside, back wall of the combustion chamber12 to sense the temperature thereof. For example, if the sensor 67detects a predetermined high temperature signal, the controller 60 shutsoff the fuel feed auger that delivers the biomass fuel pellets to thefuel burner fuel bed, thus commencing an orderly automatic shutdown ofthe device 10. Accordingly, the controller modulates the operation ofthe system to maintain a desired temperature output.

As also shown in FIG. 10, the controller controls the speed of thecombustion fan 68, which can be located within heating device 10 asillustrated in FIG. 1, or otherwise outside or otherwise in flowcommunication to facilitate intake and exhaust air. Controller 60 canalso control the speed of the convection fan 21 that is used to forcethe air through the heat exchangers 19. As mentioned hereinabove,controller 60 can also control the ash auger motor 54 that evacuates theashes depending on the operating parameters of the system and high orlow ash fuel type. A power supply 69 provides the 12 VDC power for thecontroller and interface.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the user interface pad 61 isalso provided with switches 70 to condition the controller to operatewithin a stored programmed mode of operation depending on the type offuel being fed to the burner. A red stop switch 71 is provided to shutdown the operation of the heating device. A manual feed switch 72 isalso provided to feed fuel to the combustion bed during the primingcycle at start-up. Additionally this can be regulated automatically froma thermostat prior to automatic ignition of the fuel present in theburner.

Digital numeric display windows display a number indicative of the setparameters inputted by the user person by the switches 62, 63 and 64.These display windows will display numbers such as 1 to 5 with thehighest number indicating the highest feed rate or fan speed. When theoperator selects a desired operation of the stove, normally a settingfrom 1 to 5, each of these settings is associated with a program fuelfeed rate with corresponding air feed rates for optimum efficiency inthe operation of the unit. As the unit operates the controller sensesthe operating parameters thereof and automatically adjusts the elementsthat it controls such as fan speed and ash evacuation rates, and theconvection fan 21 is adjusted so that the output air temperature of thestove is substantially the one selected by the user. The sensors alsoprovide a safety system for the heating device by monitoring thetemperature of the combustion chamber and the exhaust temperature. Thecontroller and/or sensors can also be configured to detect if there isno longer a fire in the burner and will turn the heating device off oncethe unit has cooled down to a pre-set temperature.

Although the application of the cyclone burner 11 is herein describedwith respect to an application of a wood and biomass pellet and wholegrain burning stove, it is pointed out that this burner can be coupledto existing air-to-air and liquid heat exchange systems to providethermal energy for their respective applications and heat exchangersurfaces or their combustion chambers. As example of applications, thecyclone burner can be coupled to boilers or hot air furnaces and can bemounted at any suitable angle as is required, examples includevertically or horizontally, as will be described later. As previouslydescribed, the size of the cyclone burner can vary greatly and itsdimensions can be substantially increased for residential, commercial,and industrial thermal heat transfer applications. It is envisaged thatsuch a burner can replace existing fuel burners such as oil or gasburners, and this technology can be scaled up from current levels, forbiomass pellet and whole grain applications, to over 60 million BTUs ormore depending on the required application. In such larger applications,and as previously described, more air jets can be provided to allowoxygen to catalyze with the volatile gases which are entering the burnerfrom the gasification chamber.

It is also pointed out that in the pellet stove application because thesystem is operating at a low air-to-fuel ratio, most ash particles thatleave the cyclone burner will not be drawn out or up into the exhaust orflue but will precipitate within the lower part of the device where theash collecting compartment is located. Accordingly, there are virtuallyno volatized organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere with theexhaust and complete combustion of the gases therefore takes place inthe cyclone burner and complete containment of the particulate issubstantially accomplished.

As shown in FIG. 6, a deflector bracket 80 may be secured to the cycloneburner and project within the reaction zone 33. This deflector 80 can beformed by a strip of stainless steel or other suitable steel materialand provided with a hook end 81 to hook onto the top edge 82 of theburner, or any other configuration for connecting a deflector to aburner wall. The deflector projects inside the inner wall 42 apredetermined distance and is sloped in a bottom end section to form adeflecting end 83, whereby fuel pellets or grains, such as shelled corn,when projected into the burner by the chute 27, will be deflected intothe fuel bed to prevent such fuel from forming an uneven fuel bed. Thedeflector is secured in alignment with the chute 27. This deflection isderived and positioned to cause minimum interference with the cyclone32. It is also conceivable that a deflector could also be coupled to thefeeding chute, or any other like manners for deflecting fuel into thebed; deflector 80 as shown herein is simple to construct and effective,but can certainly be configured in various other sizes, shapes, anglesand configurations.

The following is a summary of test results obtained on a pellet stoveequipped with the “close coupled gasification” cyclone burner of thepresent invention and tested by the McGill University Energy andEnvironmental Research Laboratory.

TEST RESULTS

Three different biomass fuels were used for testing: corn, bark, andwood pellets. Each biofuel was tested four times in order to verify datarepeatability at two feed rates of 2.5 lbs/hr and 3.0 lbs/hr. Tests wereperformed according to ASTM and Environment Canada/Quebec testingprotocols (e.g., standards concerning the following articles wereapplied: B.315, articles 8, 10, 11, 12, 24, 27, 45, 65, 67). Collectionof data was conducted after achieving a steady-state. Gas concentrationmeasurements (VOC, CO, CO₂, NO_(x)) were taken at a rate of 1 ft³/min.In addition, samples of solid particulates in the exhaust gas andresidual ashes were collected to determine mass concentration, chemicalcomposition and morphology.

MAIN OBSERVATIONS

-   Negligible amount of solid particulates were found in the exhaust    gas.-   Less than detectable amount of VOCs were found.-   NO_(x) concentrations were below acceptable emission standards.-   In most cases CO concentration was within a range of 11-25 ppm/hr.-   Exhaust temperature changed between 130 and 150° C.-   Corn yielded lowest CO emissions-   The following hierarchy of the biomass fuel was established at lower    feeding rate of 2.5 lbs/hr: bark>wood>corn.-   The following hierarchy of the biomass fuel was established at a    higher feeding rate of 3.0 lbs/hr: corn>bark>wood.

It can therefore be concluded that with the construction of a cycloneburner having air jet holes oriented to create a particle suspension,reaction zone in the burner chamber to increase the residency time ofcombustion gases and particulate material, substantially all of thecombustion gases are burned and substantially all the particulatematerial precipitates into an ash collecting tray. The burner is alsooperated at low pressure (air tight sealed) with low excess combustionair which lowers the fuel bed temperature (air starved) whichsubstantially prevents the fusion of inorganic elements within the fuelbed and the formation of slag deposits. Independent testing has shownthat the emission levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC),particulates and fly ash, and the level of nitrogen oxides (No_(x)), issubstantially reduced below acceptable regulated levels.

Referring now to FIG. 11, in accordance with other exemplaryembodiments, there is shown a modification of the cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner for different applications whereby the burner can becoupled to boilers or hot air furnaces and can be mounted eithervertically or horizontally or angularly. As shown in FIG. 11, the burner11 can be constructed as previously described with the exception thatthe fuel bed 25 is not fed from above but from a supply conduit 80 alsoprovided with an auger screw 81 to transfer the solid biomass fuelpellets 24 from a hopper 82. Various other conventional configurationsand methods for feeding fuel bed 25 can also be implemented in variousother exemplary embodiments. The supply conduit 80 has an open end 83formed in the inner cylindrical wall 16 of the combustion burner housing11, herein mounted vertically. The opening 83 is positioned above thefuel bed 25 and below the series of air jets 31.

The open top end 84 of the vertical combustion burner housing 11 iscoupled to a further combustion burner housing 11′ mounted horizontally.The further combustion housing also has an inner cylindrical wall 16′provided with air jet holes 31′ therein and its manifold 14′ isconnected to a fan 85 to provide air pressure to create the cyclonewithin the combustion burner housing 11′. As hereinshown each of themanifold chambers 14 and 14′ are connected and coupled together wherebythe fan 85 is sufficient to draw air through the air jet holes 31 of thevertical combustion burner housing 11. However, a further fan may beconnected to the manifold chamber 14 which may be independent from themanifold chamber 14′ and this further fan is illustrated schematicallyby reference numeral 86. Although not shown, the ash collector asdescribed hereinabove with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 would be connectedto the bottom end of the vertical combustion burner 15.

As hereinshown, the further combustion burner 11′ has a closed end wall87 and an opposed open end 88 for the flame 89 to exit and provide asource of thermal energy. The further combustion burner housing 11′ ismounted substantially transversely to the vertical burner and the innercylindrical walls about these burners are connected together incommunication to form a continuous internal combustion chamber. Anigniter device 90 may also be provided to start a flame within thehorizontal combustion burner housing 11′. Of course, although not shown,the fuel bed 25 can be ignited as previously described. Because thehopper 82 is located exteriorly of a boiler or furnace, to which thisburner is coupled, the hopper can be continuously supplied with biomassfuel pellets to provide continuous operation, if necessary to do so.

FIG. 12 shows another exemplary embodiment similar to that illustratedin FIG. 11 but wherein the combustion burner housing 11′ is not directlycoupled to the vertical combustion burner housing 11. As hereinshown,the horizontal combustion burner housing 11′ has an open rear end 91which is coupled by conduit 92 to a gas collecting chamber 93 and intowhich are fed combustion gases from the fuel bed 25 flowing out of innercylindrical wall 16 through a further conduit 94 and from the top end 95thereof through a feed auger screw 96 which connects to the bottom ofthe collecting chamber 93. Pellets are fed from a hopper 97 and a feedauger 98 into the bottom of the gas collecting housing 93 onto the augerscrew 96 where they are transported and released into the fuel bed 25 ishereinshown. This hot combustible gas in the collecting chambermaintains a flame extending into the conduit 92 and into the innercylindrical chamber of the combustion housing 11′ where it is mixed withadditional air within the cyclone therein. A blower 99 is provided tocreate a cyclonic combustion air flow within the horizontal combustionburner housing 11′. A further burner 100 is also connected to themanifold chamber 14 of the vertical combustion burner housing 11. Theash collecting tray 50 is also connected to the bottom of the verticalchamber if deemed necessary but the blower 99 may be sufficient tocreate a negative pressure within the vertical combustion burner housing11 to create the cyclonic air flow path within its inner cylindricalwall.

As previously described, the disposition of the air jet holes within theinner cylindrical wall can suitably create a cyclone-like flow in areaction zone in the inner cylindrical wall and it is also conceivablethat combustion gases may be applied directly within the innercylindrical wall below the cyclone path to mix therewith, whereby toincrease the residency time of the gas for substantially completecombustion thereof. Accordingly, FIG. 13 shows another exemplaryembodiment where the fuel bed is replaced by a combustion gas supply 101connected to an injector 102 secured to the burner housing 11 adjacent abottom end thereof. The bottom end of the burner is hereinshown having abottom end 103 but if the gas being burned is one that containssuspended particles which would collect at the bottom end of the burner11 then a collecting tray such as the tray 50 could be mounted at thisbottom end.

In this exemplary embodiment, a regulator device 104 is mounted in thesupply line 105 and may be controlled by a controller such as the onedescribed hereinabove. An igniter 106 provides for the ignition of theinjector 107. A fan 108 provides air under pressure to the manifold 14to create the cyclone 32.

Referring now to FIG. 14, there is shown a further embodiment wherein anexemplary high efficiency cyclone gasifying combustion burner isincorporated into a hot air furnace 120. For example, a large hopperstructure 121 is mounted next to the furnace 120 and supplies solidbiomass fuel pellets or other granular particles 122 to the combustionburner 11 by means of a chute, not shown herein but similar to chute 27as illustrated in FIG. 2. The supply of pellets to the chute is providedvia a screw conveyor 123, the speed of which is controlled by acontroller modulating the speed of the motor 124 which drives the augerscrew, not shown, within the screw conveyor 123. The controller iscoupled to a thermostat whereby to control the burner 11 within thefurnace 120 in a manner as previously described. It is also pointed outthat the furnace 120 may be an industrial furnace of large dimension.Also, the solid combustion fuel may be coal which is fed to the burner11 from the hopper 121.

As described above, an exemplary high efficiency cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner can be incorporated with several devices requiring athermal energy source to heat an area as in space and central heating,such devices may have applications for processing materials, for coolingby an absorptive chilling device to reduce the temperature of an area,for processing materials, to produce electricity through the thermalexpansion of gases which produce mechanical force, as in steam turbines,and as a source of thermal energy in thermoelectric and thermophotovoltaic devices for the generation of electricity, and/or as athermal heat source for a heat engine.

The present invention has been described above with reference to variousexemplary embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognizethat changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. For example,the various operational steps, as well as the components for carryingout the operational steps, may be implemented in alternate waysdepending upon the particular application or in consideration of anynumber of cost functions associated with the operation of the system,e.g., various of the component and methodologies and/or steps may bedeleted, modified, or combined with other components, methodologiesand/or steps. For example, various of the systems and devices withincontroller 60, can suitably be modified, removed or replaced. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims.

1. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner comprising a combustion housingdefined by an inner cylindrical wall surrounded by a manifold chamberconfigured with an combustion air inlet, said inner cylindrical wallhaving air jet holes therein of substantially predetermined diameter anddisposed at a substantially predetermined angle to create an air cycloneflow in a reaction zone in said inner cylindrical wall spaced above alower air starved flaming pyrolysis gasifying fuel bed thereof wherebyto increase at least one of the residency time, turbulence, mixing ofoxygen, and volatile gases for substantially complete combustion ofgases within said reaction zone.
 2. A cyclone gasifying combustionburner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said gasifying fuel bed issupported on a platform having a controllable discharge device for theautomatic removal of ash accumulating in a lower section of said fuelbed.
 3. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1wherein said air jet holes are disposed by spacing apart atsubstantially predetermined distances and in series on at least onesubstantially predetermined inclined axis to create a unidirectionalcombustion air cyclone flow in said reaction zone.
 4. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 3 wherein saidpredetermined angle of said air jet holes is defined by a firsttangential angle with respect to the curvature of said inner cylindricalwall.
 5. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 4wherein said predetermined angle of said air jet hole is further definedby a second transverse angle with respect to a transverse axis of saidinner cylindrical wall and angulated in the direction of an open end ofsaid inner cylindrical wall.
 6. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 3 wherein said suspended particles are projected bysaid air cyclone flow against an inner surface of said inner cylindricalwall wherein at least some of said particles will agglomerate with otherparticles and thereby increase the molecular weight thereof andgravitate to said fuel bed and thereby substantially reducing theemission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
 7. A cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner as claimed in claim 4 wherein said tangential angle isin the range of between approximately 15° to 89° with respect to thecurvature of said cylindrical wall.
 8. A cyclone gasifying combustionburner as claimed in claim 7 wherein said tangential angle is atapproximately 60 degrees.
 9. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 5 wherein said transverse angle is in the range ofapproximately 1° to 15° from said transverse axis.
 10. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 9 wherein saidtransverse angle is approximately 13 degrees.
 11. A cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said combustion burneris a low pressure burner having an air/fuel ratio of from about 6:1 to10:1.
 12. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1wherein said predetermined diameter is within the range of from about 1to about 48 inches with respect to the height of said innercircumferential wall which height is from about 4 to about 48 inches andin which said reaction zone is established.
 13. A cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said predetermineddiameter of said air jet holes is from about 1/16 to about 2 inches. 14.A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidsolid fuel is a biomass solid fuel in a particle, granular, pellet formor whole grain or seed or coal form
 15. A cyclone gasifying combustionburner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said series of inclined air jetholes extend in said inner cylindrical wall from above said fuel bedwhereby said fuel bed is substantially starved from combustion air tolower the temperature of combustion of said flaming pyrolysis fuel bedbelow the fusion point of inorganic elements that may be present withinsaid fuel bed to prevent agglomeration within said bed.
 16. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said reactionzone has a length sufficient to provide said substantially completecombustion of said combustion gases and the containment of saidparticles to substantially eliminate the emission of pollutants.
 17. Acyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 15 wherein thereis further provided additional air jet holes in said inner cylindricalwall and spaced from said series of inclined air jet holes to activatesaid flaming pyrolyisis gasification combustion zone.
 18. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said air jetholes in each said series are spaced at a substantially predetermineddistance from one another.
 19. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 18 wherein there is provided a substantiallypredetermined number of series of said inclined air jet holes dependentupon the diameter and height of said inner cylindrical wall, said seriesof inclined air jet holes being equidistantly spaced about thecircumference and height of said inner cylindrical wall.
 20. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 19 wherein there are atleast two series of inclined air jet holes for a 4 inch diameter innercylindrical wall, said air jet holes having a diameter of about 1/16inch.
 21. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 2wherein said platform is a support tray having a solid fuel supportsection and an ash discharge section, at least two auger screwsrotatably supported in said tray and extending from said solid fuelsupport section to said discharge section, and a drive device to rotatesaid auger screws to percolate smaller particles of ash to the bottom ofsaid fuel bed, said ash material at the bottom of said fuel bed supportsection being transported by said auger screws to said dischargesection.
 22. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim21 wherein said drive device to rotate is an electric motor drivecoupled to said auger screws, said electric motor drive being controlledby a controller to discharge said ash material at a controlled ratedependent on the percentage of ash in the fuel and the operatingparameters of said cyclone combustion burner, whereby to inhibit therelease of fly ash during the combustion process of solid fuel andreduce slag deposition and fused minerals and to control the level ofsaid fuel bed in tandem with each other for optimal performance.
 23. Acyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 2 in combinationwith a heating device having a combustion chamber in which said burneris incorporated, a heat exchanger in said combustion chamber, an airdisplacement device to create a negative pressure in said combustionchamber to displace hot air against said heat exchanger and to draw airthrough said air jet holes in said inner cylindrical wall of saidcombustion burner, and a controller to control said air displacementmeans.
 24. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 23wherein said heating device is a hot air furnace.
 25. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 23 wherein said solidfuel is coal.
 26. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed inclaim 23 wherein said heating device is a biomass pellet stove and saidheat exchanger is comprised of isolated air circulating flow paths incontact with surfaces heated by said hot air in said combustion chamber,and an air circulating device to circulate ambient air through said flowpath.
 27. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 26wherein said platform is a support tray having a solid fuel supportsection and an ash discharge section, at least two auger screwsrotatably supported in said tray and extending from said solid fuelsupport section to said discharge section, and a drive device to rotatesaid auger screws to cause ash material at the bottom of said fuel bedsupport section to be transported to said discharge section, and a solidfuel pellet storage hopper having discharge means to feed solid biomassfuels to said flaming pyrolyisis combustion bed, and an exhaust deviceto exhaust gases from said combustion chamber to atmosphere.
 28. Acyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 27 wherein thereis further provided a deflector element extending into said combustionzone to deflect said combustible biomass fuels released in said innercylindrical wall of said burner from said discharge device to distributesame over said fuel bed to substantially promote an even distribution ofsaid biomass fuels onto said fuel bed.
 29. A cyclone gasifyingcombustion burner as claimed in claim 27 wherein there is furtherprovided an ash removal tray positioned under said ash discharge sectionof said support tray, said ash removal tray being accessible through adoor secured in a housing of said biomass stove, said drive device torotate said auger screws being an electric motor coupled thereto by agear linkage.
 30. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed inclaim 27 wherein there is further provided a controller forautomatically controlling the operation of said pellet stove, and a userinterface pad having a memory and switches to set parameters into saidcontroller relating to a desired mode of operation, and a visual displaydevice.
 31. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 30wherein said switches comprise combustion fan switches to set the speedof said exhaust means and consequently the quantity of air admitted insaid combustion zone to increase or decrease the temperature in saidcombustion chamber, ash control switches to fine tune the evacuationrate of ashes according to the fuel type selected and percentage of ashpresent in said fuel type during combustion by adjusting the speed ofsaid drive device to rotate said auger screws, and output temperaturecontrol switches to set the BTU output of said pellet stove.
 32. Acyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 31 wherein saidcontroller is provided input signals from a low temperature sensor tosense the temperature of said stove, input signals from an operationalthermo sensor to indicate the absence of a fire in said combustionburner, and signals from a high temperature sensor to shut-down thecontroller when the stove reaches a pre-set temperature.
 33. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 32 wherein said displaydevice is a digital numerical display window which displays a numberindicative of the speed of said exhaust device, the speed of said drivedevice to rotate said auger screws, the speed of said hopper dischargedevice, and the speed of said air circulating device.
 34. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 33 wherein saidcontroller controls the said devices set by the user interface pad foroptimum efficiency and further controls said discharge device of saidhopper to set the feed rate of solid particle biomass fuel to saidcombustion bed based on the set parameters and said input signals fromat least some of said sensors.
 35. A cyclone gasifying combustion burneras claimed in claim 1 wherein said manifold chamber is defined by aconcentrically spaced outer cylindrical wall having annular opposed endwalls connected to said inner cylindrical wall to form a cylindricalcontour chamber.
 36. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said combustion housing is secured in a vertical orhorizontal plane, or at a desired angle, and coupled to a combustionchamber of a solid fuel, oil or gas device for residential, commercialor industrial use.
 37. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimedin claim 1 wherein said combustion housing is a vertical combustionhousing having an open top end, a feed device to feed a solid biomassfuel particle, pellet, granular material, grain or seed form to saidfuel bed, and a further combustion housing having an inner cylindricalwall surrounded by a manifold chamber, said inner cylindrical wall ofsaid further combustion housing having said air jet holes therein tocreate a reaction zone therein for the combustion of gases, said furthercombustion housing having a closed end wall and an opposed open end andbeing secured adjacent to said closed end wall to an open top end ofsaid combustion housing and extending substantially transverselythereto, said inner cylindrical wall of both said vertical combustionhousing and said further combustion housing communicating with oneanother to form a continuous internal combustion chamber.
 38. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 37 wherein there isfurther provided an igniter in said inner cylindrical wall of saidfurther combustion housing.
 39. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 37 wherein said feed device to feed said solid biomassfuel is a supply conduit having an open end in said inner cylindricalwall of said vertical combustion housing disposed above said fuel bed,and an auger to transport said biomass fuel in said supply conduit. 40.A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 37 whereineach said manifold chamber is connected to a combustion air pressuregenerating device.
 41. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimedin claim 40 wherein said air pressure generating device is a fan.
 42. Acyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 40 wherein eachsaid manifold chamber is interconnected together.
 43. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidcombustion housing is a vertical combustion housing having an open topend, a feed device to feed a solid biomass fuel in a particle, granular,pellet or whole or partial grain or seed form to said fuel bed, afurther combustion housing having an inner cylindrical wall surroundedby a manifold chamber, said inner cylindrical wall of said furthercombustion housing having said air jet holes therein to create areaction zone therein for the combustion of gases and further having anopen rear end and an open front end, said open rear end being connectedto said open top end of said vertical combustion housing by a conduitfor the supply of hot combustible gases released from said open top endand for mixing with an air cyclone of said further combustion housing.44. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 43 whereinthere is further provided an igniter in said inner cylindrical wall ofsaid further combustion housing.
 45. A cyclone gasifying combustionburner as claimed in claim 43 wherein said feed device to feed saidsolid biomass fuel is a supply conduit having an open end in said innercylindrical wall of said vertical combustion housing disposed above saidfuel bed, and an auger to transport said biomass fuel in said supplyconduit.
 46. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim43 wherein each said manifold chamber is connected to a combustion airpressure generating device.
 47. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 46 wherein said air pressure generating device is afan.
 48. A method of substantially reducing at least one of the emissionlevels of volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate and entrainedfly ash, and the level of nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)) during combustion ofa solid or gas fuel within a heating device, said method comprising thesteps of: i) feeding said solid fuel in an open end of a cyclonegasifying combustion burner and onto a flaming pyrolysis fuel bedthereof, disposed below a reaction zone of said burner, said burnerhaving a burner chamber defined by an inner cylindrical wall having apredetermined number of inclined air jet holes of predetermined diameterand height disposed at substantially predetermined locations to create acyclone air flow within said reaction zone; and ii) providing air intosaid burner chamber through said inclined air jet holes whereby todirect combustion gases from said fuel bed into said reaction zone tomix with said cyclone air flow thereby increasing at least one of theresidency time of said combustion gases, turbulence, and mixing ofoxygen and volatile gases for substantially complete combustion of gasesin said reaction zone.
 49. A method as claimed in claim 48 wherein thereis further provided the step of (iii) removing said agglomeratedparticles and ash from said fuel bed in a controlled manner, accordingto the type of said solid fuel and percentage of ash present in saidsolid fuel so as to maintain a fuel bed of specific height, to maintainthe reaction of flaming pyrolysis and to protect said ash removal augersfrom excessive temperatures and oxidation.
 50. A method as claimed inclaim 48 wherein providing air into said burner chamber through saidinclined air jet holes is configured to simultaneously precipitatesuspended particles against an inner surface of said inner cylindricalwall to cause at least some of said particles to agglomerate with otherparticles to increase their molecular weight and gravitate to said fuelbed.
 51. A method as claimed in claim 49 wherein prior to step (i) thereis provided the step of igniting a starter fuel bed below saidcombustion zone and thereafter enabling a controller for automaticoperation of said burner.
 52. A method as claimed in claim 51 whereinsaid cyclone combustion burner is mounted in a heating device having acombustion chamber, said controller effecting the steps of: (a)actuating an air displacement device communicating with said combustionchamber to effect said step (i) of drawing combustion air andsimultaneously displacing heated air in said combustion chamber againsta heat exchanger disposed in said combustion chamber, and (b) displacinga medium to be heated through said heat exchange means.
 53. A method asclaimed in claim 52 wherein said controller further effects the steps of(c) sensing the temperature of said heating device, (d) sensing thetemperature of said burner chamber, and (e) sensing a high limittemperature of said heating device to deactivate said heating device ifnecessary by effecting an orderly shut down of said heating device. 54.A method as claimed in claim 52 wherein said controller further effectsthe steps of controlling the discharge of said solid fuel particles froma hopper and into said fuel bed.
 55. A method as claimed in claim 52wherein said controller further comprises the step of automaticallyadjusting the operational parameters of said heating device inaccordance with selected programmed input signals received from a userinterface pad according to a fuel type being selected for combustion.56. A method as claimed in claim 48 wherein said heating device is oneof a domestic/commercial and industrial hot air furnace, a boiler or aliquid (fluid) heater.
 57. A method as claimed in claim 48 wherein thereis further provided the step of agitating a fluidized bed to improvecombustion and to percolate particles of ash to the bottom of said fuelbed.
 58. A method as claimed in claim 48 wherein there is furtherprovided the step of transporting said ash from said bottom of said fuelbed to a discharge area at a rate according to a selected fuel type andthe percentage of ash typically present in said fuel type.
 59. Agasifying combustion burner having a housing defined by an innercylindrical wall surrounded by a manifold chamber configured with ancombustion air inlet, said inner cylindrical wall having air jet holestherein disposed at predetermined angles to create an air cyclone flowin a reaction zone in said inner cylindrical wall spaced above a lowercombustion gas supply, said cyclone flow in said reaction zoneconfigured for increasing at least one of residency time, turbulence,and mixing of oxygen with volatile gases for substantially completecombustion of gases within said reaction zone thereby substantiallyreducing the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
 60. A cyclonegasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 59 wherein saidcombustion gas supply is delivered by a gas conduit injector secured tosaid inner cylindrical wall, and an igniter adjacent to an injectionnozzle of said injector.
 61. A cyclone gasifying combustion burner asclaimed in claim 60 wherein said gas injector has a gas supply lineconduit connected thereto and a gas control regulator connected to saidgas supply line.
 62. A method of substantially reducing the emissionlevels of any one of volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate,entrained fly ash and the level of nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)) duringcombustion of a gas, said method comprising the steps of: i) supplying acombustion gas below a reaction zone of a cyclone gasifying combustionburner, said burner having a burner chamber defined by an innercylindrical wall having a substantially predetermined number of inclinedair jet holes disposed to create a cyclone air flow within said reactionzone when combustion air is drawn therethrough, ii) drawing air intosaid burner chamber through said inclined air jet holes whereby to drawsaid combustion gases into said reaction zone to mix with said cycloneair flow thereby increasing at least one of the residency time of saidcombustion gases, turbulence, and mixing of oxygen with volatile gasesfor substantially complete combustion of gases in said reaction zone tosubstantially reduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. 63.A cyclone gasifying combustion burner as claimed in claim 62 whereinsaid step ii) comprises injecting said combustion gas in said innercylindrical wall through a gas injector connected to a gas supply line,and regulating the flow of gas in said supply line.